Dauphin Island public beach fee set to begin in late May

MOBILE, Alabama -- Beginning in late May, visitors to Dauphin Island’s centrally located public beach on the Gulf of Mexico will be charged a fee for access.

The fees:

$5 per car or on motorcycle, regardless of the number of passengers

$2 for pedestrians and bicyclists.

$20 for those driving motorhomes or buses, or anything that takes up more than a single parking space.

Children age 12 and younger will get in free, according to Matthew Capps, executive director of the three-member Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board.

The beach will be the second on the island to charge admission.

Once Memorial Day weekend arrives, plans call for the beach to be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., Capps said. He added that a vendor is expected to contract with the board to provide a water slide, concessions and beach rentals.

No lifeguards will be on duty. Signs are posted to swim at your own risk.

In recent months, the beach board spent about $50,000 to renovate and spruce up the parking lot. When the project is complete, Capps said, the number of parking spaces will double, from 150 to about 300.

“I’m expecting it to be a new experience for beach-going visitors,” Capps said, adding that he hopes it will become more family friendly.

“A lot of people come in to look at the sunset,” he said. “That’s part of coming to the beach.”

The new fees will help maintain amenities such as restrooms, a boardwalk, pavilions, picnic tables and trash receptacles. It will also be spent, board members said, to fund ongoing beach renourishment efforts.

Members of the park and beach board are appointed by the Mobile County Commission.

The town of Dauphin Island, which owns a beach on the west end of the barrier island, does not own or operate the public beach off Bienville Boulevard.

Dauphin Island’s west-end beach opened last month for weekend visitors between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. through the end of April.

Starting in May, access to the west-end beach will be available daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fee is $2 per car to park, and $3 per visitor for those older than 12. Children age 12 and under are admitted free.